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Handzus lifts Kings over Hurricanes

Oct 18, 2008 - 6:42 AM By Jonathan Raber PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Michal Handzus scored with 99 seconds remaining in overtime to lift the Los Angeles Kings to a 4-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night.

Handzus picked up the puck in the neutral zone and carried it across the blue line. Hurricanes left wing Ray Whitney was forced to play defense and dived toward Handzus, who pulled the puck to his right before putting it back on his forehand and snapping it past goaltender Cam Ward for the game-winner.

"(Handzus) recognized it was a forward on defense," Kings coach Terry Murray said. "He held onto the puck with lots of composure and made a great shot."

The tally was Handzus' second of the game. The veteran opened the scoring 56 seconds into the first period, when he received a pass from Wayne Simmonds in front of the net and shoved the puck past Ward for his first goal of the season.

Anze Kopitar and captain Dustin Brown added goals for the Kings, who rallied from a 3-1 deficit after the Hurricanes scored on three straight shots in the second period.

"Once Kopi scored, we had the momentum the rest of the way," Brown said.

Trailing by one to start the second, Carolina was able to take advantage of some fortuitous bounces.

Ryan Bayda knotted the contest at 9:16 of the second, when he flicked the puck into the net after defenseman Niclas Wallin's shot from the blue line was deflected.

The Hurricanes took the lead just under three minutes later as Dan LaCouture was credited with a goal while standing near the crease, even though the puck appeared to bounce off the skate of a defender and into the net. The goal was LaCouture's first since February 11, 2006, when he was a member of the Boston Bruins.

Matt Cullen completed the outburst as he also found himself in the right place at the right time. With 4:24 remaining in the session, an errant shot bounced off goaltender Jason LaBarbera to a waiting Eric Staal, whose wrister was deflected in by Cullen from the doorstep to give the Hurricanes a two-goal lead.

"When we stopped skating in the second period, we got in a big hole," Handzus said. "But we came back."

Brown drew Los Angeles within 3-2 late in the period, converting a feed from Patrick O'Sullivan with 2:05 remaining for his first goal of the campaign.

"(The second) wasn't a very good period," Brown said. "For us to get a goal towards the end, it gave us something positive to build on."

Kopitar forged a tie with 9:19 left in the third, lifting in a backhander from the left side of the net for his initial tally of the season.

"We talked about coming out strong and on our toes in the third period, and we didn't," Carolina coach Peter Laviolette said. "We were sitting back a little bit too much. They evened it up and we flattened out again. We had an opportunity and didn't bury it, and they had an opportunity and buried it."

Hurricanes rookie center Brandon Sutter agreed.

"The third period, we sat back and let them get in the game," he said. "For the most part, we outplayed them. I don't think we competed enough to win the third."